For once we find our trio of intrepid magic-users-in-training on familiar
ground, at least for Score. He grew up on Earth. Helaine and Pixel, on the
other hand, might be forgiven for being a bit confused. Imagine, if you
will, a young lady from a medieval world confronted with skyscrapers. How
about a young man who lived most of his life alone or with a couple of
friends on-line, suddenly encountering a busy New York street full of
pedestrians and vehicles? As you can well imagine, there were lots of
reasons for this confusion.

There are villains a plenty in this book - a New York street gang, mobsters,
wannabe magicians, and more. And they all want Score. Their reasons
differ, but their desires are all the same.

Then there is the crippled young lady with the massive computer set-up.
What is her part in this whole thing? Who is she? What is she?

Score is dying, Helaine is missing her weapons, and Pixel.well, his only
real problem is that he misses the natural blue color of his skin.

This far away from the Diadem, magic works poorly. It still works, but it
is a pale reflection of what the three of them are used to working with.

Of course, since this isn't the end of the series all of the ends are not
tied up nicely and neatly when the last page arrives. Score and Helaine
arrive safely on Treen only to discover that Pixel and his captor have gone
elsewhere - to Zarathan, also known as the Nightmare World (and the scene of
the next book in the series, Book of Nightmares).

This is a fun series of books so long as you are looking for simple escapism
fiction. There is no attempt made to be true-to-life, or to teach "proper"
magical methods. It is a series written for fun. Enjoy it for what it is.